Halo Facing the Inner Demon
by RedLightningD608
Summary: Some people are born as monsters, other are shaped into such horrific beings. But learning to accept who and what you are, that is the challenging part. Science shouldn't medal with monsters, because the world just isn't ready for what horrors they will bring to the field regardless of who side your on.
1. Chapter 1

Red Lightning was many things, a soldier, an engineered weapon of war, an abomination designed to destroy everything, he was brutal, cold, and most of all he was devastating to all those he face in combat. However Lightning didn't like to think himself in those ways, that what he is physically, but he wasn't mindless and defiantly not a murderous psychopath. But as the saying goes, 'treat a man like a monster, and they'll act like a monster' and that statement held true for Lightning.

Just the mere sight of him was alien to humanity, with his body covered in ballistic like metal scales that were a blood red and deep blue in colours. It made it hard to tell what was scale and what was blood in combat. His limbs and everything else about him was distinctively alien, from his short spiky tail, to his clawed hands and spikes running down his back. What terrified people the most was his face, a reasonable long muzzle with a jaw full of venomous razor sharp fangs that could strip flesh from bone.  
Spikes ran up his muzzle ending at a tuff of almost human like hair, but his eyes, the way they glowed a poisonous, almost unnatural green could send a shiver through people's souls.

Lightning was no feeble human, his flesh and bone had been fused, altered and enhanced through sciences to make him stronger, smarter, faster and most of all more ferocious compared to his humanoid counter parts. All in the pursuit of a weapon, Lightning held that fact with betterment and pride at the same time.

All this played through Lightning's mind as he sat there amongst the rubble of a building, the sky was overcast and gloomy which matched the atmosphere of the planet almost perfectly. It'd been 3 weeks since the Covenant had laid siege to this world, the name held no importance for Lightning nor did the date.

All he knew was the Covenant was hell bent on wiping out humanity like it was the scourge of the galaxy, humanity had little chances against the multiple alien species that comprised this Covenant war machine. Or the fact that the Covenant possessed technology that was almost 100 years ahead of humanity, cold harden steel was only so tough against the volatile power of energised plasma that liquefied matter upon contact. Lightning had experienced how powerful his enemy arsenal could be first hand, the plasma scorching across his hide spoke highly of the pain and discomfort.

Lightning almost felt sorry for the UNSC, or United Nations Space Command. Which was humanities primary military power in the galaxy, while lethal and powerful there technology may be. A 7.62x51MM armour penetrating projectile was only useful if it could get through energy shields, nearly all frontal or conventional tactics to fight the Covenant resulted in humanity suffering unimaginable casualties to gain the smallest of victories.

In other words, Humanity was losing this war of genocide, which made Lightning feel sympathetic. SARA called him soft but he had his own reasons for the emotion and why he continued to fight for a species that despised his very existence.

Adjusting his grip on a large cylinder like sniper rifle, the drake like creature gently lowered a pair of bulky armoured goggles over his eyes before aiming down the scope of his weapon. From the building he had a good advantage point overlooking a large park or recreational area. Perfect to ambush unexpecting scouts or enemy patrol units.

Sweeping the area with his weapon, Lightning's goggles displayed a highly advance heads up display that made him aware of his surroundings in a more prominent and tactful manner. SARA was of course a big held in this regard, making sure he was subconsciously aware and informed about everything in sight, right down to the gentle breeze and humidity variations that may interfere with his projectiles trajectory.

Movement made SARA alert Lightning to targets, and the drake slowly swivelled his weapon about to lock onto his would be victims.  
Through the powerful scope, Lightning watched as several creatures slowly strolled down a street in a calmly manner, as if there was no war taking place at all.

4 of the aliens were what the troopers called 'Grunts' they were fat hunch back looking creatures with great big arms and tiny little legs that hobbled is larger body around in a ridiculous manner. Their faces were small and muzzled with a breather mask so they didn't suffocate in human atmosphere, they were clad in a light orange armour and armed with purple coloured plasma pistols that could be quite dangerous at close range.

Lightning knew that Grunts were the Covenant equivalent to cannon fodder, a species that were only there for numbers to over whelm the enemy. This allowed the taller and far more deadly alien behind the Grunts to be more effective in combat. The tall reptilian creature was clad in dark blue armour, with fins on its helmet that remarkable resembled shark fins. This species were called Elites, a dangerous and strong warrior like race that dwarfed the tallest human in both size, speed and strength.

Even Lightning, who could crush a man's skull with his bare hands couldn't match an Elite in terms of strength. They truly were dangerous adversaries to be wary of, thankfully they were also quite predictable at times during battle.  
Adjusting his aim to lead his target and adjust for the forces of gravity, wind and trajectory drop. Lightning squeezed the trigger causing his rifle to rocket back violently into his shoulder, expelling a heavy 14.7mm projectile at supersonic speeds.

Silence followed for a moment, and Lightning watched as his projectile arced through the air until striking a blue orb hanging from a grunts waist. In a blinding flash of blue the blue ball of plasma energy exploded, engulfing the entire unit of hostile infantry within its blast and killing them all on the spot.  
Lightning watched on in silence, faintly noticing the faded boom as the sound of the explosion reached him seconds later.

 _"Good shot considering you only had 87% chance of actually hitting your target"_ complimented SARA softly into Lightning's ear, the drake didn't move as the female voice spoke and simple kept his sights trained on the scorched body of the elite for signs of movement.

 _"_ _You know it's polite to reply to a compliment"_ huffed SARA clearly offended by the drakes' silence, earning the faintest twitch of a smile from the drake himself.

"I know, I just like hearing you talk. Reminds me I have friends" muttered a deep throaty voice from Lightning's jaws, not a heartbeat passed after he said this than his weapon roared with another gun shot and sent a bullet whistling into the air.

SARA watched silently as her companion aim proved true once more and the elite, who was now crawling towards a building. Was suddenly rocked to the side in a shower of purplish blue blood.

 _"You have more friends than just me Lightning… you know this"_ pressed SARA with concern, causing the drake to let out a soft growl of irritation.

"Make sure to report this to Colonel Martin, Covenant activity north east of base" Lightning nearly ordered, acting as if he hadn't heard SARA's words. Or possibly he just didn't care.

 _"He's already been informed…"_ Muttered SARA bitterly, Lightning made no gesture he heard her and just simple ejected the rifles magazine and refilled its clip without looking away from his rifle scope, SARA had to admit her partner was really something on the battlefield.

So cool, calculative and efficient, almost a perfect piece of combat hardware, almost. However nothing could remove the human element from Lightning's body, the part that held his shattered remains of humanity together.

Movement in the sky caused Lightning to sit upright and hoist his weapon into the air, aiming the barrel towards the sky like an anti-aircraft gun.  
The drakes optics caught a flash of two airborne vehicles, they were curved orange craft with two short wings that stuck out the sides.

 _"Banshees"_ growled SARA in recognition, the Banshee was the covenant main form of air to ground support.

The vehicle was small, fast and nimble, while also packing a fuel rod. The covenants plasma version of a bazooka that was devastating to all UNSC armoured vehicles, including tanks.  
Lightning's form seemed to shimmer, before he disappeared into thin air without a sound.

The drake slowly followed the two banshees with his rifle, watching them glide overhead and out of sight.

 _"Colonel you got banshees inbound over!"_ barked SARA into the radio, a moment later the distant echoes of gunfire and explosions riddled the air like music.

Silently Lightning awaited the return of the two aircraft, his hands tightening around the grip of his weapon in anticipation for the shot. SARA played trajectories and advised angles of attack into the drakes HUD system, watching him closely for signs of a reaction. Yet the drake remained stoic, mind focused fully on the task at hand.

After several long minutes of listening to the battle waging on far away, the two banshees returned. This time riddled with small arms damage and one trailing a little smoke into the air, all clear signs that the UNSC got the message and fought back against the covenant little attack.

Following his targets with his rifle, Lightning adjusted his position and took aim at the rear of the fleeing Banshees. His optics were locked on the small gap at the rear of the aircraft where the pilot entered and exited the vehicle, it was a clear opening right into the cockpit of the aircrafts and a clear design fault.

Squeezing the trigger, Lightning watched as the first banshee suddenly plummeted towards the ground below. Disappearing from sight, noticing its down comrade, the second Banshee began to twirl and dart about the air, making it near impossible to get a lock on target.

Disgruntled, Lightning didn't waist his ammunition on the fleeing aircraft and instead returned his focus to the landscape below for more targets. His body flickered into existence once more and be scanned the area for hostiles, possibly any snipers that snuck into position while he wasn't looking.

'BOOM!' roared the sniper rifle as another shot was thrown down range, striking its intended target right through the chest. A Jackal sniper slouched forward and plummeted out of a buildings window, splatting across the pavement below in a gross display of gore. Jackals were strange bird like lizards that stood as tall as a man, they weren't very strong but extremely fast and accurate with a sniper rifle. Making them superb marksman's in combat, thankfully they wore near no armour making them easy to kill.

 _"You should allocate a new position soon, it's not wise to camp in one place for an extended time while sniping hostile targets"_ advised SARA bluntly as Lightning adjusted his position so he was more comfortable while firing, he grunted in acknowledgement before focusing on some activity down one of the main roads.

"Shit" spat the drake as he saw what was coming, surrounded by Grunts and Elites, lumbered along the blue curved armour form of a Wraith tank.

A Wraith was the Covenants primary heavy armour, it was immune to small arms fire and could hurtle giant balls of plasma over buildings like a mortar onto targets. Judging by the platoon of ground forces, this was an attack force for sure and only one area in this region was worth attacking.

"Radio base and tell them more hostiles inbound" Muttered Lightning as he slowly drew away from his ledge and into the shadows of the room.

Slowly he inched away until he was out of sight then darted for the stairs. Like a man on a mission, Lightning jumped down the stairs 5 at a time, making inhumane progress towards the ground floor where he became invisible once more as to avoid the Covenant ground forces closing in on his position.

Lightning knew he was within 600 meters from base camp, from the remaining remnants of the UNSC marines and special ops task force that was sent into this region at the start of the siege. They were mostly wounded and running low on ammunition, to make things worse Lightning didn't remember seeing any ordinance powerful enough to wipe out a Wraith tank at base.

 _"They received the warning, beware friendly units got hit hard by those banshees, I don't think there in any shape to fight off that platoon"_ Informed SARA almost casually, Lightning skidded to a halt down the center of the street and sat his rifle on the ground.

With a growl he grabbed a damaged civilian vehicle and began pushing it towards the centre of the road, upon his back sprung two mechanical limbs tipped with dagger like claws. These second set of arms slapped into the ground giving the drake extra perchance to push the car.  
Working without a break, the drake shoved several vehicles to form a make shift wall down the street, he hoped it would by the UNSC a little more time.

As he stepped back from his handy work and the robotic arms folded neatly against his back, Lightning spotted movement down the street. The Wraith tank slowly came around a corner, flanked by covenant infantry.  
With a curse the drake bolted, grabbing his sniper rife along the way by the carry handle as he went.

Without a sign of strain, Lightning ran the full 600 meters all the way back to the base camp, which was basically the local police station fortified for combat.  
As he drew closer, he barely cast a second glance at the darken hull of destroyed battle tanks and human combat vehicles.

But he didn't cast a glance at the smoke emitting from the building, obviously from where the banshees had fired there fuel rod cannons.  
Lightning darted towards the make shift barricade around the building, ignoring the weapons that were trained on him as he approached.

While he was on their side, Lightning knew the humans didn't trust him because of how alien he was to them. But xenophobia was justified in this war of genocide, it was likely these men lost friends and family to this war and wanted someone to blame.

"Red, good to see you made it back alive" called out a dirty battle worn man as he slowly stepped forward from the barricade, the guy was clad in the damage remains of black ODST armour.

ODST being Orbital Drop shock Troopers, they were dropped from orbit into combat as a quick response units and special elite task force. The fact the man was alive was proof of how tough the ODST was.

"Hostiles inbound Colonel, I tried to hinder there advance but no telling how much time we got" informed Lightning bluntly as he adjusting his rifle so he was now holding it correctly.

"Good work trooper, go find a position and prepare to defend were still alone in this fight" stated Colonel dully as he gestured for Lightning to enter the compound.

Strolling through the make shift gates, Lightning took a moment to gaze out at the men and women scuttling around the area in preparation for battle. Some didn't even have body armour yet still manned battle stations with any weapon they could get their hands on. Including knives and a few covenant weapons scavenged from the battle field.

SARA felt sadden by the sight, by how weak and defeated the humans looked. She just wished she had her own physical form to actually do something to help these people, but Lightning's body wasn't exactly the most caring or friendly face for such a task.

As Lightning walked towards the large battered Police building, someone bellowed a warning and gun fire ripped through the air like a knife. Spinning on the spot Lightning let out a low snarl of anger as he saw the Wraith tank on the other end of the street slowly hovering towards the station.

 _"Reinforce the wall defence!"_ called out SARA, prompting the drake to rush back towards the wall of vehicles where marines were using as cover.

Blue and green bolts of plasma whistled through the air, flying past the head of marines as they retaliated with burst of rifle and pistol fire towards the enemy. Lightning himself stood upright and brought his sniper rifle to bare, taking a pot shot at an elite which only shattered against the aliens energy shield but caused no physical damage.

Then the wraith fired its main gun, launching a ball of swirling plasma high into the air.

"Take COVER!" roared a marine as he rushed away from the wall, trying to predict where the plasma would land.

Lightning did likewise and rushed away as well, feeling the heat and blinding flash behind him as the plasma obliterated a section of the wall in a single explosion. A few marines didn't move fast enough and were thrown through the air by the concussive blast wave, landing limply upon the ground in a battered or burn heap of flesh.

Once the explosion disappeared, everyone rushed back to the wall firing there weapons thought the now large opening created by the plasma. Men stumbled and fell as bolts of plasma violently burnt through both armour and flesh in a heartbeat, while others were left screaming in agonizing pain on the ground.

Lightning didn't give these men a passing glance, he was used to seeing such a sight and knew not to deviate from battle.  
Firing his sniper rifle, Lightning watched as a grunt was thrown backwards by his bullet, only for another to take its place and resume the fight.

Another ball of plasma was launched into the air, and once more the marines scattered to dodge the attack. This time the projectile landed at the base of the police station, tossing supply crates into the air like they were mere leaves.  
Lightning cursed bitterly and fired a shot at the gunner manning the Wraiths plasma turret, the projectile shot true and ripped through energy shields and flesh. Making the elites head explode in a blur of gore across the tanks hull and ceasing the stream of plasma bolts from the tanks secondary weapon.

"Hostiles flanking le..." the marine closet to Lightning didn't have a chance to finish, as his head was suddenly struck with a bright pink crystal that shattered violently. Ripping his head apart in the process.

Despite this Lightning gathered what the marine was trying to say, adjusting his aim Lightning spot several grunts and an elite flanking to the left through some buildings. Before the drake could open fire, an explosion of blue erupted meters behind him showering him in debris and heat.

For a brief moment Lightning was lost in a loud ringing noise and blurred vision, but soon his senses recovered from the blast and he realized he'd been thrown face first into the ground. With a growl he slowly stood to his feet, eyes darting left and right for his sniper rifle.  
The weapon was underneath him, the scope crushed against his chest plate making the weapon practically useless in this battle.

Eyes locating another weapon, Lightning grabbed the MA5B assault rifle from a dead marine and loaded a fresh clip of 60 rounds. He gave a brief glance at the digital round counter to ensure a full mag, the drake darted out of the opening in the wall and dived to the ground. Ducking low over the stream of weapon fire from both sides.

A bolt of plasma slapped the ground beside him and his form flickered briefly before he disappeared from sight. Now invisible, Lightning crawled towards a building with rifle in hand, intending to confront the Covenant forces attempting to flank them.

Once inside, Lightning became visible and stood to his feet. His HUD allowing him clear visibility in the dark confines of the building.  
Slowly moving forward with rifle at the ready, Lightning advanced onwards into the building's interior.

It wasn't hard to locate the enemy, the grunts were squealing away as they fired upon the human forces. Making a loud ruckus that even the dumbest human would know how to follow to its source. Turning invisible one more, Lightning rounded a corner to find his adversaries moving position to the upper levels of the building. Such a move would give them a better line of fire to attack the marines, making it harder for the marines to defend their base.

 _"I detect three grunts moving upstairs, the elite and remaining grunt are holding position"_ informed SARA, indicating the enemies positions on Lightning's HUD.

The drake silently followed the grunts up the stairs, keeping his rifle trained on their backs as they waddled their way to the next floor. When the grunts approached a window, Lightning made his move. Dropping the rifle silently to the floor, Lightning held his right arms at the ready and slowly snuck up behind the closest grunt.

With a quick step and slash of the claws, the grunt collapsed to the ground, green blood oozing from a gash across its throat. The remained grunts heard the thud of their companion's body and turned around with their plasma pistols at the ready, they exchanged words in whatever language they spoke. Suddenly the right grunt was lifted into the air by the throat and hurled through the window, screaming loudly as it plummeted to its death.

The remaining grunt panicked and fired plasma bolts randomly into the room, causing Lightning to grunt with discomfort as a plasma bolt struck him across the cheek liquefying his metal scales. The grunt stepped back as Lightning materialised into thin air, and screamed loudly as he lunged forward with tooth and claw.

Wiping his blood smeared claws on a burnt looking couch, Lightning hastily retried his rifle and one of the grunts plasma pistols before finding a corner to hide behind near the stairs. As predicted the Elite came scrambling up the stairs with the remaining grunts to investigate the commotion, is plasma rifle was held at the ready to attack.

Lightning waited until there were all centred in the room, examining the dead corpses before he struck. Holding the rifle in one hand, he fired short burst into the back of each grunt before rapid firing the pistol at the elite who spun around as soon as the rifle fire split the air.

The elite's shields flared as the plasma burned at it dangerously when suddenly they collapsed completely, allowing a burst from the rifle to finish the elite off before it could effectively retaliate.  
Lightning smirked as he lowered his smoking rifle, slowly strolling forward to examine his fallen adversaries.

As he approached, his ears twitched as he heard a noise behind him. Whirling about he saw something flicker into existence and something hard slam into his face. Staggering back from the blow Lightning was dazed, unable to read the data that SARA was throwing before his eyes.

Another blow rocked the drakes muzzle violently to the side, followed by another blow from above. Lightning dropped to his knees, mind still blurred from the bone shattering blows to his face. He stared up one last time to see a fist come down to slam into the tip of his muzzle, directly upon a nerve cluster that knocked the drake unconscious.

To be Continued…


	2. Chapter 2

Lightning winced loudly as he came back to reality, his face throbbing from where he'd been attacked. Instantly the drake became aware that he was restrained and hanging by his wrist from the ceiling by some kind of energy.

"SARA you there?" growled Lightning as he looked around the room, noticing the walls were clearly human in design which was a bonus, it meant he was still on the planet.

 _"I was beginning to worry you wouldn't wake up, the attack damaged part of our neural interface and I was temporary separated from you"_ informed SARA sounding worried, Lightning snorted in reply. Thinking that SARA didn't need to worry about his health, she should know personally it takes more than a punch to kill him.

"I'm fine SARA don't you worry, where are we?" inquired the drake as he looked around the room, noticing that part of his armour and equipment had been stripped from his body at some point and were sitting in a pile out of arms reach.

 _"I can't say for sure, my sensory system was damaged as well as transmitter… I'm effectively as blind as you are Red"_ admitted the AI in a worried voice, Lightning didn't like hearing SARA speak in that tone, and he didn't like hearing his only friend sounding so afraid.

"You work on repairing the system, I'll worry about getting us out of here" said Lightning trying to sound confident as he tested the bindings with his strength.

The energy holding him was strong, but if he pushed hard enough he could move his limbs by a fraction. However this wasn't enough to escape, growling angrily he tried the next best thing. His body was designed to utilise electrical energy into a form that best suited himself, Lightning figured he could try drawing the energy into himself and thus render the hindering obsolete.

Closing his eyes Lightning shivered as he felt warmth run down his arms and towards the spikes on his back. The spikes acted like power nodes and batteries, storing vast quantity of energy to be used later in combat. But as Lightning drew in the energy, he noticed the bindings didn't waver in their grip and held firm.

Even when Lightning had stored the maximum charge of electricity his body could handle, the energy bindings remained firm and unyielding. Despite this he did feel refreshed and energies. Like he could take on a whole platoon of Elites with his bare hands.

As he pondered this train of thought, a door was thrown open violently and Lightning let out a menacing snarl as two elites entered the room. One was clad in red armour indicating he was high rank, the other had a more tactical looking get up with fully enclosed helmet. Its armour was near black with silver lining, it took a moment for Lightning to recognise that this other elite was special ops unit.

Thinking back to the attack, Lightning now understood what happened, he'd been ambushed by Elite special ops, they utilised stealth tech that he couldn't track with his current technology unless he used thermal imaging.

Watching the two aliens, Lightning notice they seemed to be arguing in their own language. The discussion was heated to say the last and once or twice they turned to stare at him, letting lightning get a good look at the red armoured figure and his split jaw.  
It was so strange how humans compared the 4 toothy maniples that made up an Elites jaw, as being similar to his own, he'd been shot out multiple times because apparently he looked like an Elite. Go figure human logic.

Suddenly a sword was drawn, and not a sword made of metal but the Covenant type. The sword was comprised of two long pointed blades made from plasma energy, it was devastating to anyone and everything and was basically a one hit kill weapon. Lightning could feel the heat of the plasma as the blade hovered near his vulnerable throat, all it would take is a quick jab and he'd be good as head.

Lightning glared down the blade at the special ops Elite, staring into the aliens visor without fear. The drake continued to glare but suddenly the red elite grabbed his companions arm and forced him to draw the sword away, barking at his comrade with what sounded like rage.

 _"I think there arguing over what to do with you, I can't tell my sensor isn't translating correctly"_ muttered SARA with irritation, Lightning couldn't help but smirk in reply.

"The mighty Forerunner base AI can't even translate a simple conversation?" he teased with a whisper so only she could hear, he mental felt SARA fume in response and poke his mind with a feeling of anger.

He only chuckled in reply causing both Elites to snap there gaze upon him, before he could act a fist slammed into fabric armour around Lightning's gut. Making his gasp loudly as the air left his lungs, he cringed and gasped for breath violently as the elite growled something at him in a threatening manner.

Lightning hissed aggressively in reply and snapped his jaws at the elite, but the alien didn't even flinch as the drakes jaws snapped shut inches from his face.  
So much for intimidation, thought Lightning as he reverted to just growl and glare at his adversaries.

The elites continued to argue, until Lightning noticed a sound coming from outside the room. The Elites heard it too and both turned their eyes towards the doorway as the sound of fighting grew closer.  
Lightning grinned as he heard the distinct clatter of a UNSC rifle, and the loud boom of a shotgun ripping through the air.

 _"Sounds like the rescue party has arrived"_ stated SARA, saying exactly what Lightning was thinking, obviously the Elites thought so too as the red elite armed itself with a plasma rifle while the other turned towards Lightning with energy sword in hand.  
Seeing the Elites intention, Lightning narrowed his eyes and waited for the enemy to make the first move.

With a sudden lunge the Elite jumped forward, but at that same moment Lightning kicked out with his unshackled legs. Lightning kicked with enough force to toss the Elite backwards and stumbling over a stack of crates with a loud crash.

The red Elite roared furiously and turned his rifle upon Lightning, but as the alien went to attack the door burst open and a shotgun roared loudly. The Elites shields shattered beneath the shotguns power, alerting the alien to the danger as it spun around firing its own weapon. However a burst of rifle fire cut the Elite down before it could gather its aim.

Lightning looked towards the humans and was surprised to see 2 ODST stroll slowly towards him, weapons sweeping the room professionally for additional targets.

"Aren't I glad to see you" chuckled Lightning calmly, but something felt off as he saw one of the ODST visor go clear and saw the face of Colonel Martin staring up at him strangle.

"Nothing personal Red, but I have my orders" said Martin with a sullen voice, Lightning's face dropped as he saw the shotgun barrel suddenly raise towards his face.

Instinctively Lightning drew his electrical reserves into a magnetic field around him, it wasn't bullet proof but it was a good buffer barrier against harm.  
'BOOOM' Lightning flinched as the first blast of 8gauge slammed into his shield, nearly ripping through it with the first blast.

Martin pumped the action of his weapon before firing again, this time causing Lightning's barrier to fail completely and allow several heavy pellets to slap against scale painfully. Blood oozed out of the wounds covering his face and he snarled down at Martin who worked the action of his weapon one last time.

"Red Lightning, your here by released from the line of duty" said Martin in a respectful manner, but Lightning hissed in reply bitterly at his sudden betrayal.

As Martin raised his shotgun to deliver the finishing blow, a sharp burning sound filled the air followed by Martins head suddenly toppling from his shoulders and clattering to the ground.  
The second ODST opened fire with his rifle, hammering the Special ops Elite who had remained cloaked the entire time.

The Elite charged forwards, cloak failing under the hail of bullets and sword slashing through the air to slice the ODST in half. But the Trooper saw the attack coming and dived under the blade, rolling to his feet to fire upon the Elite again.

Feeling anger course through him, electricity crackled between the drake's teeth and a bolt of electrical energy shot from his jaws. The ODST yelled as hole ripped through his chest and electricity surged through his body causing muscle spasms, until he finally slouched dead upon the floor.

The air smelt strongly of burnt meat as silence engulfed the room, Lightning glared down at the decapitated corpse of Martin who had dare to try and execute him despite all he done to help humanity. He had a feeling ONI was behind this, the Office of Naval Intelligence had always tried to make his life difficult on the field of combat and sent him of suicide assignments for a number of reasons.

A light electrical noise drew Lightning's gaze towards the special ops Elite. Its sword was still activated and now its shields had finally been recharged, Lightning made a low growl noise as he eyed the sword. Another moment of silence passed when suddenly, the sword was deactivated and the Elite just strolled out of the room. Not casting Lightning a second glance as it left.

 _"Did… we almost die from our own comrade a moment ago?"_ it sounded like SARA was on the verge of tears, something Lightning didn't like.

"Indeed, we were just betrayed" Lightning flinched as he listen to the sound of sobbing from SARA and felt the AI distress and sadness seep into his own mind, the two of them were strongly connected both physically and mentally, and right now Lightning couldn't help but feel SARA sadness over the situation.

Trying to block out SARA emotions, Lightning recharged his body with electricity before looking upwards at the energy manipulating the energy shackles. Opening his jaws, he shot forth a blast of electricity that destroyed the device and resealed the drake from its clutches.

He slumped to the floor before standing upright, stretching his limbs to remove the cramps and sores. With a soft yawn, the drake moved towards his gear and began to reapply his heavy armour plating of titanium and ballistic fibre. It took some difficulty to reinstall his mechanical arms but that wasn't an issue Lightning hadn't adapted to.

Pulling his armoured goggles over his eyes, Lightning grabbed the dead ODST rifle and reloaded it with a fresh magazine before leaving the room. Outside Lightning discovered the fallout of the battle he heard previously, a mini warzone of flames and corpses, both human and Covenant alike littered the ground like trash in a street. Lightning slowly moved forward, SARA supplying any brief piece of information when she could considering her equipment wasn't working at 100%.

The drake slowly exited the area and discovered he was still in the city, but was more on the costal edge of the city. Lightning could smell the seas salty breeze and decided to head to the beach, he hated the beach.  
Moving cautiously the drake turned invisible to avoid detection from both UNSC and Covenant forces, both sides seemed keen to end his life which he wasn't about to let happen.

Sneaking through the deserted streets, Lightning found his way onto the soft dry sandy shores of the beach. Slowly he walked down towards the water's edge before collapsing to his knees, his mind could no longer hold back the emotions flowing through SARA and all he could do was comfort her with his own conscious mind.

Sitting there on the sand, Lightning mentally held SARA in his arms. Cradling her like a child as she came to terms with what just happened, it was hard to share a body and SARA was still knew to the world of warfare. While Lightning knew war and its horrors, he couldn't prepare his closest friend for the trauma she would face.

Lightning had tried to protect her, yet like now and many other times before. He had failed to keep those close to him safe from harm, he didn't understand how despite all his inhuman power and ferocity he couldn't protect his friends. Was he cursed with this, was it part of his life to fail forever. Was this the doing of some divine being who sought to make Lightning suffer for being unnatural, for being what some religions assume an artificial demon?

Movement close by alerted Lightning to company, and his hands moved instinctively to the rifle beside him as a Phantom drop ship zoomed overhead, a dropship only the Covenant utilized.

Unwittingly, Lightning had become visible in his lapse of concentration, making him an easy target for the covenant forces. Looking about, Lightning spotted several Elites standing some distance away on the beach, weapons in hand in preparation for combat.

It'd be easy for these Elites to just shoot him right there in then when he wasn't looking, why hadn't they?  
It was then that a special ops Elite stepped forwards, and spoke something loudly into the air that Lightning didn't understand.

Thankfully SARA was listening, and translated the words for him.  
 _"Come with us if you desire to live"_ It wasn't an order, but a request.

Staring at the Elites, Lightning let out a deep sigh and allowed the rifle to slip from his grasp. The Elites took this as his reply and promptly strolled forward to restrain him with energy cuffs, before loading him aboard the phantom dropship.

Whatever came next, Lightning knew he was more than prepared to face it. After all he was designed to withstand the worst of situations, to beat the impossible and destroy everything that opposed him. He could handle some Elites. Or so he hoped.

To be Continued...

 **AU**

 **Well I didn't write one last time but walla, a Halo fanfiction that I hope a few people will enjoy, now before someone asks if this is a one shot.. I written up to 5 chapters thus far for the story, so totaling over 14000 words in length so its going strong.**

 **Secondly I do not own HALO or its characters, I only own Lightning and SARA who are both from my Deviant ART page and main OC.**

 **I do hope people enjoy and please leave your opinions below, cause that's how I get better, from the input others give me about what good or bad.**  
 **Especially all thoses 'There Their Theyre stuff'**

 **Have a good week and be safe!**


	3. Chapter 3

Lightning had to admit, he'd been in worst situations before. Sitting there cross legged in his cell, Lightning cast a bored gaze across the very naked room. There was literary nothing in the cell, no toilet, no bed not even a chair. It was just a box with a little funny wall due to Covenant architect being different to humans, Lightning personally found the floor to be very uncomfortable considering it was kind of cold.

Before him, loomed with a slight humming noise in the air, was a large force field of energy that was so potent not even Lightning could penetrate the barrier with his electrical abilities. That was if his muzzle wasn't held shut with a metal jaw clamp and his hands still banded by energy cuffs, to the drake it was almost flattering the aliens saw him as such a danger. They even posted two grunts outside his cell to keep an eye on him, but the two unintelligent aliens had fallen asleep on the job leaving Lightning to just silently observe his spacious cell.

 _"So what's the plan partner?"_ questioned SARA out of the bloom, Lightning jumped slightly on the spot in surprise. He nearly forgotten SARA was around considering the hours of silence from her.

After being captured on the beach, SARA went dark and Lightning endured the whole trip to the Covenant space cruiser alone and through the annoying processes of stripping down to scales. Honestly he felt exposed without his armour and clothing, indecent would be one way to describe it.

"I suppose we just wait and see what they have planned for us" admitted Lightning dully as he stared out his cell.

He could feel SARA disapproval through their mental link and tried to block her out, but she only intensified her feelings before speaking.  
 _"So we just going to sit here and wait!"_ she really didn't like this approach, but Lightning was in no mood to argue with her.

"We are, if things look bad then I'll blow this joint and leave… simple as that" this made SARA less irritable but she still wasn't satisfied by the plan, Lightning could feel it in the back of his mind.

With a sigh, Lightning rolled backward onto his back. Feeling his spikes and plates scrape against the cold metal in an uncomfortable manner, nestled safely between the spikes was the Forerunner technology that connected SARA to Lightning's body. It looked like a series of metal plates fused into the flesh lining his spine and bulging a little around the upper part of his back, connecting to what was basically a second brain in the drake's body.

It was this second brain that allowed SARA to interact with the drake without causing him mental discomfort or death, while also allowing her to feel the world through him. She could basically piggy back onto his nervous system, allowing her to feel truly alive.

Thankfully the Covenant hadn't bothered to tamper with the technology, leaving SARA safely integrated with her drake like companion. For the moment that was, sooner or later they would begin to poke and prod and that was why SARA didn't want to wait.

Lightning could feel her anxiety through his mind and did his best to comfort her, he wouldn't let anyone touch her physically while he was still breathing.

Suddenly there was a loud barking, followed by the squealing of Grunts as something happened outside. Sitting upright Lightning watched as an Elite berated the Grunts for dozing off and promptly slapped one across the room angrily, Lightning almost felt sorry for the smaller aliens, almost.

Once the Elite was done yelling at the Grunts, it deactivated the energy field and tossed something at Lightning feet before instantly reactivating the barrier. Confused, Lightning tilted his head to the size as he stared down at something lying at his feet.

It looked like raw flesh from something, what Lightning couldn't tell. A sinking feeling swelled inside Lightning as he realized what the meat was for, SARA also displayed her displeasure through his mind as he poked the meat with his spike tipped tail.

 _"I believe that is out meal…"_ stated SARA softly, Lightning growled in acknowledgement as he conjured sparks between his teeth.

Reaching down Lightning grabbed the cold slab of flesh and began to chew on it hesitantly, the electricity between his jaws made short work of cooking the mysterious flesh but it was tough and hard to chew. Likely the worst piece of meat from whatever animal it came from, Lightning didn't care but he was thankful for the food.

Finishing his meal, Lightning licked his claws clean before noticing the Elite was still outside his cell. He mentally cursed himself for not being more mindful of his surrounding, that and he felt self-conscious about eating in front of others.  
The Elite continued to stare for some time, before taking a position outside his cell where the previous Grunts had been located.

 _"That wasn't creepy at all"_ muttered SARA to herself, but Lightning could feel her irritation flare once more.

Lightning sat there in silence, eyes taking in his guard with mild interest. It was covered in blue armour indicating a low warrior rank, so theoretically it's combat experience would be low with less capable combat capabilities and hardware.

SARA mentally sculled the drake for thinking so deeply about a single Elite minor, he should be focusing more on how to escape the cell before he even considered the guards outside. But despite this that didn't stop Lightning from studying the guard, taking in the chinks in its armour that he could exploit in battle.

Eventually Lightning became board, and decided to play a mental game of checkers with SARA. The AI was incredible at such games and generally won their games, but it didn't stop Lightning trying. Their first game lasted for about 7 minutes, in which time SARA obliterated Lightning hands down, however the second game lasted nearly 20 minutes as Lightning tried a more aggressive tactic.

Together they enjoyed several games of checkers, with SARA winning 5 games out of 7. Lightning took defeat honourably, it didn't hurt to lose to someone like SARA, considering there extremely close relationship.  
They were half way through their 8th game when the energy field suddenly went down once more, both SARA and Lightning perked up as several Elites entered the cell and barked something sternly in their own language.

 _"They want us to follow them"_ informed SARA dully, Lightning only snorted before standing upright, allowing himself to be ceased by the larger aliens and marched out of the room.

It was interesting walking about the interior of a covenant cruiser, it was nothing like a UNSC frigate or warship. The hallways were huge and curved, with slight up and downs along the way that made it feel more like natural landscape than a warship. The only part Lightning disliked was the purple, he was getting sick of that purple colour scheme that seem to taint every aspect of Covenant technology.

Eventually Lightning was forced inside a brightly lit room and held rather violently into the air by his shackles, just another reminded of how strong an Elite was. Lightning couldn't help but groan as he found himself floating in thin air by energy shackles once more, before a majority of the Elites left the room without another word.

 _"A little De-ja-vu don't you think?"_ commented SARA dully in Lightning mind, he replied by moving his checkers piece and taking out two of her own in a single move.

 _"Hey no fair I wasn't ready"_ she exclaimed, Lightning only smirked as the game continued until someone else walked into the room. This time Lightning recognised this individual. __

It was hard to forget that armour and helmet, especially that helmet and certainly that energy sword hanging from his belt. The Special ops Elite said something in Lightning's direction, slowly circling the restrained drake with long powerful strides.

Lightning remained silent, ignoring the Elite as it continued to talk to him in its own native tongue… well language considering the Elite didn't have a visible tongue. Lightning smirked at his own little joke, receiving a sudden angry bark from the Elite.

 _"He's questioning us"_ informed SARA with a hint of concern, but Lightning wasn't concerned, he'd been trained to resist interrogation methods of multiple calibres at a young age.

The Elite didn't like Lightning's silence, and started to get physical with his methods. Between questions he would punch multiple areas of the drake's body, chipping scales and irritating old wounds from previous combat.  
Lightning did his best not to react to the blows, despite the pain his body could endure far worse and even numb the pain if need be.

SARA offered words of comfort as the Elite beat the drake, sometimes translating the questions which were quite bland and expected.  
Things such as names, what he was, how many humans still littered the planet etc etc. Honestly Lightning didn't know the last two, he was just a soldier on the front line not a resource management or tactician.

The interrogation lasted for several hours, leaving the drake battered and bleeding yet still unbroken. Through the entire processes he refused to say a word, refused to look the Elite in the eye and refused to show weakness. Thankfully his stubbornness payed off, and the special Ops Elite left the room with a loud grumble of irritation.

When he was mostly alone with the remaining Elite guards, Lightning allowed a small smile to twitch at his lips before continuing his game of checkers with SARA. The AI scowled him for trying to shrug off his wounds, but continued the game nether the less.

They were almost finished their game when another Elite walked into the room, the alien barked something at the guards who walked over and removed Lightning from the air, allowing him to stand under his own power once more. What Lightning didn't expect was for the Elite who entered to suddenly grab the drake around the muzzle with a vice like grip, Lightning snarled in rage but couldn't resist as the Elite turned the drakes head at multiple angles as if examining him.

Making a soft grunt, the Elite released the drake and barked something to the guards. Lightning didn't need SARA to translate as the guards said something to him before giving a sharp shove towards the door, reluctantly the drake did as instructed and walked towards the door with an Elite at the lead.

Strolling once more through the purple hallways, Lightning noticed the surprised stares of the other Covenant aliens as they passed. Grunts would squeal and point, Jackals goggled and Elites glared daggers at him. He even saw a few Brutes, large gorilla like creatures with a savage temper and horrid stench. The Brutes only snarled as he saw him but at least they didn't seem to make as much a fuss as the other species.

They walked through countless doors before suddenly veering into a large room, upon entering Lightning instantly knew where he was. It didn't take a genius to recognise a med bay, despite the differences in technology the set up was relatively the same. Lightning had been in plenty med bays due to combat wounds to recognise even a basic set up.

An Elite suddenly gave Lightning a sharp shove in the back, making him stagger towards one of the giant operating tables that stood nearly chest height tall, defiantly not something designed with his species in mind.  
Lightning gave a growl at his captives but received a sharp blow across the face in reply, said Elite barked something again and hesitantly the drake jumped onto the table and sat down on it cross legged.

The Elites shifted around, looking around the room in an almost agitated manner, as if they didn't like being in the room. Lightning tilted his head at his captive with mild interest until something else entered the room, Lightning didn't know what it was but it reminded him of a jelly fish.

The alien hovered through the air with multiple tentacles dangling beneath it, it had a long serpent like neck and a head dotted with several black orb like eyes. Its body reminded the drake of a balloon, but he couldn't help but notice the pieces of metal and technology imbedded in its flesh.

The unusual alien wasn't the only one to enter the room, another Elite in strange armour entered and said something to the Elite guards. A small conversation ensured until this new Elite strolled closer to Lightning and leaned closer to examine him.

Lightning didn't like this Elite, its eyes didn't exactly scream friendly. The drake made a deep glow to indicate his dislike of the Elite, but the alien didn't waver and instead began poking at his wounds.

 _"I think this is a doctor… Either he's meant to heal your wounds or torture us with other methods…"_ suggested SARA in a hesitant tone, Lightning growled softly in reply. Such reassurance was 'appreciated' SARA noticed the sarcasm and conveyed her annoyance through his mind.

The 'Doctor' as SARA called him suddenly moved away and grabbed some instrument, before turning back towards the drake. Lightning growled and leaned away from the Elite as it tried to touch his face with the device, growling and dodging for Lightning did not want someone touching his wounds that he didn't trust.

Surprisingly the Elites made noises of amusement, before discussing something amongst themselves as the Doctor continued to try and treat the drake's wounds with little success.

 _"Huh… Interesting enough the Elites dislike the doctor as much as you, something about honour"_ muttered SARA, Lightning only half listened, to preoccupied with fending off the Doctor with his cuffed hands in an effort to avoid irritation to his damaged face.

The Doctor growled in a menacing manner before calling to the other Elite, they argued for a brief moment before one of them stomped forwards and grabbed Lightning by the throat. The drake hissed and thrashed about, until a fist slammed into his gut expelling the air from his lungs. He stopped thrashing as he gasped for breath though his bounded jaws and felt the doctor do something to his face with the device.

Once the Doctor was finished, the Elite tossed Lightning violently against the table, growling in his face before stomping off to re-join his companions.  
 _"I think he said 'behave'"_ chuckled SARA despite the situation, Lightning only snorted in the Elites direction before growling as the Doctor returned with another item.

This time the Doctor didn't try to touch his body, instead it waved the instrument over his wounds as if scanning them. Paying particular interest in the plasma scaring across his scales that were still healing, plasma left nasty wounds against his metal hide. Lightning preferred bullets pelting against him over plasma.

The Doctor didn't seem to bother with the wounds caused by the Elites interrogation method, and instead said something sternly at Lightning as if he understood.

 _"He wants you to lay on your chest"_ informed SARA with a hint of suspicion, Lightning had a hunch what the Doctor was planning to examine, and he wouldn't willingly allow him to touch it.

As if sensing the drake's rebellious thoughts, the Doctor called out to the Elites and rather grumpily two of them stormed over. Sensing the danger Lightning made to jump from the table, only to be grabbed around the middle by the Doctor and slammed back down upon the table's surface. The other Elites rushed over and grabbed hold of the struggling drake to stop him attempting to escape once more.

The Elites forced Lightning onto his chest, holding him down like some criminal as the Doctor began poking and prodding at his back. Lightning hissed angrily as he felt something touch the metal at the back of his head, then slowly run down the planes lining his spine until they connected to the thicker plates of his back.

To deter anyone from touching him, the drake made electricity ark between his spikes, making the Doctor roar loudly in pain and for a sharp blow to crack against the drake's skull.  
SARA was thankful her companion had a metallic skeleton, otherwise the blow would've been lethal.

Then came a new feeling, Lightning couldn't see because of the muscular armoured limbs pinning his head but he could feel something light brush against his back. Then came the feeling of something forin poking at the edge of his mind, SARA sense it too and placed herself between the intruder and Lightning mind.

SARA felt a brief feeling of familiarity, as if she knew the presence as it became stronger, then she realized what it was. Whoever was trying to get inside their mind, was defiantly Forerunner based in technology, which was bad news for SARA.

Conjuring all her strength, SARA made a wall before this unknown being and slowly began to cage it into not important systems, limiting its power.  
Then she felt something unexpected, the unknown presence radiated a calm and friendly emotion.

Listening to it more, SARA was surprised that the being conveyed the need to repair. And was offering to fix the damage to her system sustained from battle, SARA was hesitant at first, but she sense no ill intend and so reluctantly allowed the unknown to continue.

Lightning however wasn't happy, he watched on what just took place with SARA and growled as he felt something begin working on the neural interface system lining his back. The Elites held fast, there superior strength allowing them to easily retrain the drake and preventing him from moving.

After what felt like an internity, the Elites jumped back and Lightning thrashed about with a vicious snarl, his tail lashed out, spikes flicking outwards in a make like fashion to slash at his adversaries. In response to the drakes hostility, the Elites drew there fire arms and held them at the read to attack.

 _"Lightning RELAX! They help to fix my system!"_ yelled SARA, pushing calm soothing emotions through their mental link.

Lightning withdrew his tail spikes and sat there still looking bitter and angry, his eyes looked about the room before spotting the odd jelly fish alien hovering some distance away watching him closely.  
Hesitantly, the towering Elites lowered their humming blue weapons and stepped back to allow the drake space to breath.

The Doctor moved closer once more, seeming to be making notes on some kind of holographic device before scanning his form with another of his strange tools. Well Lightning assumed it was male, he couldn't tell or didn't really care to find out the difference.

Everything was going fine with the examination, until the door swished open and in came a familiar Special ops Elite with an air of authority and purpose.  
 _"Our friend is back"_ commented SARA almost dryly, Lightning felt the same as SARA. He wasn't thrilled to see the special ops Elite after their previous encounter.

The special ops Elite spoke to the other blue armoured Elites briefly, before Lightning was nearly dragged from the examination table and shoved violently out the door surrounded on all sides by his alien captors.  
"How rude" grumbled Lightning under his breath in irritation, he was getting fed up with the pushing and shoving. He had legs he could walk under his own power for crying out loud.

 _"Your just sulking because they hurt your pride"_ teased SARA trying to lighten the mood, Lightning tried his hardest to convey the feeling of irritation to her mentally before noticing the room they just entered.

It was dark but far more spacious than the other rooms he'd observed, in the centre of the room was a raised platform that nearly seem to float in place. With giant glass computer screens that displayed a variety of information, from hull status to speed, to the temperature of the surface below and other important pieces of data.

But what caught Lightning attention was the odd being hovering in the air on a throne like device. He'd never seen this alien before and it looked almost frail, like it'd collapse under its own weight if it tried to stand. The alien's limbs were thin and wrinkly, with a long neck that held a round head tipped with a crown. Most of its thin body was draped in red robes and the throne it sat upon made it appear this alien was incredibly important.

Beside the hovering alien stood an Elite garbed in golden armour, he stood tall with pride and confidence before a control panel and seemed to be waiting with baited breath for the hovering alien to finish speaking.

Lightning wasn't sure what was going on, until he noticed how crowded the room seemed to be and that a large holograph screen appeared on the far wall of the planet below and dark reaches of space surrounding the ship.  
Then as one, the Covenant aliens began to almost cheer as the golden Elite activated a control panel, casting a beam of bright plasma energy towards the surface below.

 _"Oh no"_ gasped SARA in recognition, Lightning too felt his heart drop as he to watched the beam of plasma race towards the planet below.

He watched helplessly as the bean caused a mighty explosion that could be seen from orbit and caused the planets crust to glow a bright reddish orange.  
Now Lightning understood why he was here, the Covenant had brought him here to bear witness to their power. To torture him as he watched on in dread as the Covenant warship began the systematic process of glassing the planet below.

Of turning the planet's surface, into a barren landscape of liquefied glass that no human fortification could withstand.  
Lightning now remembered the planet he was protecting, it was called Meridian, and it use to be a UNSC colony filled with millions of lives until the Covenant came.

To be Continued…


	4. Chapter 4

Lightning sat dully in his dark prison cell, eyes staring at a spec on the floor from where his face had been slammed into its surface weeks before hand by a rather aggressive Brute.  
It'd been months since the fall of Meridian, and Lightning was still brewing over how he should feel about the planets destruction.

SARA argued he should be grieving for the loss of so many, while Lightning remained emotionless to the slaughter and argued that humanity had betrayed them, so they deserved what they got. This didn't sit well with the AI and the subject had become a sore spot between them, Lightning just shrugged it off as a hiccup in their relationship.

However SARA saw it as a reminder of how inhuman Lightning had become over the years, and what he truly was beneath the pain and rough scale armour that covered his body.  
The drake still held wounds across his body, curtesy of the Covenant and there interrogation methods to try and make him speak. The drake was rather proud to admit that he hadn't spoken a single word to anyone since his capture, his captives were growing impatience with his silence and as thus intensified their efforts to break his will.

In the months following Lightning's capture, SARA had utilised her skills to gather information and entertainment for them both. With her systems fixed she could access the Covenant battle net, the enemy's main form of communication between the warships and infantry personnel. It was from this that they learnt the depressing news from weeks previously, the dreaded news that Reach. The fortress world of humanity and one of the most prominent contributors to the war effort, had been invaded, defeated then glassed into oblivion by the Covenant battle fleet.

But one thing had them both brewing with confusion, the repeated reference of the 'Holy Ring' and the heated coms chatter about some 'Great Journey', which SARA had discovered was the focus of the Covenant religious worships. It was also due to this religion that humanity was to be exterminated, as they were apparently a plague that had befallen the galaxy and were hindering the Great Journey from being accomplished.

Lightning had chuckled upon this revelation, stating how humanity always found a way to get itself in deep trouble no matter how hard they try to avoid it. SARA had replied with something about human behaviour and how it was natural that they made mistakes causing the problems.

Such discussions were all Lightning and SARA could do to stay entertained, the confined imprisonment was beginning to take its toll on them both mentally. Including the drake who was slowly becoming less talkative and more pessimistic with each day. It didn't help when SARA noticed an increase in hormones levels related to Lightning's desire for violence, it was a genetic trait engineered to keep him fighting for as long as possible.  
SARA could suppress her companion's violent urges, but she couldn't contain them indefinably.

A commotion outside the cell caused Lightning's head to snap upwards with a startled bark, eyes darting about before focusing on the large fur covered form of a near naked Brute standing outside his cell. Lightning thought briefly back to a lesson with SARA, before remembered the correct name for the Brute species was Jiralhanae, but for simplicity sake Lightning preferred to just call them Brutes.

Beside the Brute was a very familiar Special Ops Elite, while his armour had changed and so apparently his rank. Lightning could always tell who he was by the way he held himself with pride, and by the two missing mandibles vacant from the left side of his jaw. His name was according to SARA, an Rtas 'Vadumee, a respected and dangerous individual with some power amongst the Covenant army.

But the other individuals and the unusually decorated Elites is what caught the drakes eye the most, hovering in a throne like chair, was the unusual alien in red robes.

 _"The Prophet of Truth, he doesn't look very…. Impressive"_ chimed in SARA with an innocent voice, Lightning was a reminded of a child not trying to be rude and smirked a little at her comment.

The energy field to the cell was lowered, and in shoved the foul smelling form of the brute. The beast towered over the drake at nearly 9 feet tall, compared to Lightning's small frame of 6'6 feet tall when standing.  
Roaring and snarling like a beast, the Brute turned to bark at the other aliens but received a swift punch across the jaw by Rtas.

Even Lightning had to admit that was a good punch, as if supporting the statement the Brute spat a broken tooth from its maw and glared coldly at the white armoured Elite.  
The energy field was reactivated without a moment's hesitation by Rtas part, leaving Lightning to share the cell with his rather foul tempered cell mate.

It was the Prophet of Truth that made things interesting, the old weak looking alien pointed a finger at the Brute and said with a stern, confident filled voice like one of a priest in church.

"If you wish to eat than you must fight for it" the Prophet announced before gesturing with his hand towards the drake, the Brute turned its snub face towards Lightning and made a predatory growl in its throat.

 _"That's not good"_ said SARA allowed, Lightning only snorted in agreement his eyes narrowing and pupils turning into dangerous slits. His eyes glowed dully in an unnatural manner as he sat there waiting for something to happen.

The Brutes hands were cuffed much like Lightning's own hands, but the alien was easily stronger and could still pummel the drake to death with ease. Yet Lightning had the advantage of his tail spikes, that and a few other genetically engineered abilities that lay hidden inside his body would give him an edge.

With a savage roar, the Brute suddenly hurled its muscular body towards stationary prey. Eyes gleaming with the raw, hungry intent to kill and consume, Lightning was in motion as soon as the Brute moved a muscle. His form flickering as he moved before disappearing completely as the Brute swung wildly at thin air.

A flinch worthy snap of bone and ripping sound of flesh then suddenly followed, the Brutes left knee giving out at an odd angle and causing the ape like beast to fall into a kneeling position. Another snap of bone and for a brief moment the form of Lightning could be seen in the darkness, foot crashing down upon the Brutes knee with such violence it dislocated the bone and sent the Brute collapsing to its face with a painful snarl.

The great furry beast rolled over and reached down to grasp its wounded legs, but felt a force slam down on its chest and something grab its head.  
The Prophet of Truth watched on in fascination as the drake materialised from thin air, lips quivering with a snarl and the blue markings across his body glowing with energy.

Standing upon the Brute, Lightning hands jerked the Brutes skull to the side, snapping the spinal cord in a fluent manner before the drake began to twist and pull. An unpleasant ripping and wet tearing sound soon followed, ending when the decapitated head of the Brute was suddenly thrown against the energy barrier.

Lightning stood there panting, claws dripping with the purple like blood of the slain alien that was gushing from the severed neck of the mongrel's body.  
The drake's eyes however were narrowed with anger, an anger that was staring directly at the Prophets face.

The Prophet of Truth said something to the other Elites, causing them to promptly lower the energy barrier and storm into the cell. Lightning snarled and thrashed about in defiance, but was helpless as the Elites easily dragged him from the cell.

The Prophet hovered away with Rtas by his side, while Lightning was dragged off down a corridor to who knows where. All Lightning knew at the moment was the need to rip flesh and spill blood, inside his skull. SARA was hounded with unnatural urges and desires emitting from her companion, making it hard to offer calming thoughts and comfort to the distressed and panicking drake.

So caught up in his own artificial instincts, Lightning didn't notice the room they had just entered or hear the sound of running water. It wasn't until the drakes head was shoved forcefully downwards and submerged in icy cold water, did Lightning realised something was amiss.

Throwing his head back with a sputter, he looked left and right in confusion as he spotted some kind of water fountain in the room. The Elites slowly released him from there clutches and stepped back warily, eyeing the drake for any more signs of aggression.

But Lightning was now transfixed upon his own reflection in the water's surface, eyes taking in the battered and scared muzzle of his own face. Hesitantly, Lightning lowered his paws into the fountains surface and began to scrub away the purple blood.

 _"All these years of us having to nearly restrain you during your little incidents, and now you reveal all we had to do was splash you with water?"_ scoffed SARA in disbelief, she didn't know how many times she and her creator had struggled to subdue the drake during his more volatile days, back when he was young and impulsive, before he actually understood what he was.

SARA felt a little sadden for a moment, watching on in silence as she felt uncertainty and shame emanate from the drakes mind. In silence the drake began to groom himself, scrubbing water across his old and battered scales to remove the dusty layering. He polished his claws and used the fountains reflection to examine his own carnivorous fangs for chips or tooth decay.

Once complete in his grooming session, the drake was taken by surprised when a small Grunt then came waddling into the room with clothing. Lightning hesitated as he recalled the proper name for the species, the Unggoy were a funny species to say the least, and one that Lightning couldn't pronounce even if he tried.

Giving a small nod of thanks, Lightning took the clothing and was surprised to discover it was his combat undergarment. The fabric looked cleaned, and even repaired slightly from where it sustained damage during combat on Meridian.  
Suddenly feeling exposed, Lightning threw the clothing over his body, enjoying the sensation of being covered and not exposing his scarred body for all to see.

 _"This is a little suspicious"_ voiced SARA, stating exactly what was going through Lightning's mind.

Leaving the room, Lightning was escorted to another area of the ship, or so he thought it was a ship. SARA said they were on a ship the size of a small planet so Lightning couldn't be sure where he was.

Upon entering a room, the drake instantly became suspicious and alert as he spotted a long row of armed Elite guards dressed in ceremonial like armour.  
In the middle of the room, was what one could describe as a large dining table, yet most tables Lightning saw weren't hovering in the air or had the Prophet of Truth sitting at I like some king before a banquet.

With a soft shove, Lightning stumbled forwards and slowly walked towards the Prophet with an air of hesitation. This didn't feel good, it had all the indications that the Prophet wanted him for something, why else would he be showered with less aggressive behaviour and allowed to bath for the first time in months.

Slowly drawing closer to the Prophet with a wing of guards behind him, Lightning noticed a small feast of food was sitting on the table before the Prophet. Were they going to have a conversation over a meal?

As if reading his mind, the Prophet of Truth gestured to a hovering stool and promptly spoke.

"Please have a seat" hesitantly Lightning sat down with his hands held in his lap, arms still cuffed with energy shackles as well as his muzzle.

The Prophet face seem to sadden as he took in the restraints and waved towards one of the Elites.

"Remove the restraints, such tools should not hinder our humble guest" Lightning snickered softly at the comment, but was grateful as the energy cuffs were removed from his body and he was allowed to stretch his stiff jaws for the first time in months.

 _"I think he's trying to get on your good side"_ said SARA in irritation, Lightning huffed at her before looking at the food before him.

Seeing Lightning's sudden interest, the Prophet once more gestured for the drake to proceed.  
"Please, help yourself" Lightning couldn't say no to food no matter how disgusting it looked, he eaten worse.

Shoving anything meat looking into his jaws, Lightning felt a little uncomfortable under the stare of the Prophet, or as SARA would have him say. The San 'Shyuum, such nasty little names on the tongue these Covenant species could be.

Silence followed for some time, with two guards flanking the drakes chair and the Prophet himself helping himself to some of the food in an almost bored manner. SARA wondered who would speak first, her companion of the alien sitting in the hovering throne.

"Such a peculiar creature, tell me how did you become in possession of a holy artefact left by the Gods?" asked the Prophet without warning, Lightning burped in reply causing the Prophet to cast a disapproving stare before the drake examined a strange soup like sludge and held the bowl to his lips.

"Surely you understand the primitive language of those repulsing and plaugeful humans we liberated you from" urged the Prophet in an attempt to make the drake speak, Lightning shot him a bitter stare and huffed.

Ye 'Liberated' was just a fancy word for 'we captured you' and didn't have much value in Lightning's eyes, he'd rather the traitorous humans compared to genocidal aliens.

"Or have I mistaken you for a being of lesser intelligence than the Unggoy?" Lightning dropped the bowl and snarled aggressively in reply, making sure the Prophet got a good look at his murderous venom oozing fangs.

 _"How rude"_ spat SARA in anger, Lightning growled in agreement with her, such insults were uncalled for.

"Clearly your smart enough to recognise an insult, perhaps that device on your back would hold more answers once we remo.."

"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HER!" roared Lightning as he stood up, fist slamming against the table with enough force to leave a shallow dent in the material and rock the table so violently some food items were thrown into the air.

Behind him Lightning heard the deadly hum of plasma rifles, an indication that the Elites were prepared to battle in Lightning stepped out of line.

"Her? You said her?" the Prophet looked extremely amused with himself as he stared at the fuming drake.

Lightning growled loudly, tail swishing with agitation like a predator ready to kill an unwanted pest.

"How intriguing, by Her I'm assuming you mean the instrument fused to your spine. The construct that you house would be incredibly useful in the undertaking of the Great Journey"

"I'm not letting you touch her, end of story Truth" spat Lightning savagely, making the Prophet look mildly surprised.

"I believe introductions are in order, but you have the convenience of already knowing my name, it's only fair I learn yours" Lightning huffed at the Prophets words, sparks spitting from his spikes occasionally with a soft zap.

"Calm yourself, I wish you no harm and seek your help. I wish to understand you and how you became affiliated with the creatures called humans" this was a small surprise for the drake, but not an unexpected one.

 _"Time to utilise your art of bull shitting"_ giggled SARA cheekily in the drakes mind, Lightning huffed at her in offense. It wasn't bull shitting it was a gifted art of manipulation and creative story telling that left out details or altered them to hide the truth.

Lightning sat there in silence for some time, mind stewing over a convincing story to tell the Covenant prophet before him. It had to be backed with facts and be related to this universe, if he said he was from a clan of post Nazi dragons than the Prophet would surely think he's lying and likely resort to torture once more.

SARA added her own input to the story, helping the drake formulate something that would hopefully paint the drake in a better light than the Prophet had previously perceived.

"The humans found me, woke me up from a long sleep on some planet… can't remember the name but I think it was a colony" began Lightning sounding hesitant and a little nervous, trying to indicate he was uncomfortable describing his past.

Prophet sat there silently, watching the drake in a calm demeanour as he allowed the drake to speak.

"I was made to fight, a weapon designed by a creator I do not know… When the humans found me they begged for help, saying that a great evil was approaching that would wipe out there species… So I helped them fight this dangerous enemy known as the Covenant" said Lightning before pausing briefly to gauge the Prophets reaction.

"These creators of yours, were most defiantly the doing of the Gods!" announced Prophet confidently "as for the humans, it's a great misfortune they were able to deceive you in believing there petty accusations"

Lightning tilted his head trying to look confused.

"Accusations? They ask for help I don't see why that is petty?" Lightning said innocently, sounding puzzled by what Prophet spoke of.

"The gods have declared the vermin's death, and your skills could prove useful to the holy Covenant" yelled Truth sounding aggravated, as if Lightning had hit a sensitive topic.

"And your gods… are my creators?" Prophet gave a silent nod of confirmation in reply.

"Indeed O blessed one, your destiny is amongst our great covenant, not amongst those lowly humans" Lightning thought for a moment, helping the Covenant did sound better than being a captive

 _"You're not seriously considering joining them?"_ criticized SARA with distaste, she'd seen the death and misery the Covenant had brought to the humans, such acts were barbaric in her frame of mind.

Lightning grunted in confirmation, eyes wondering around the room as he stewed over the possibility of joining the winning side. His instincts said go for it, he was a survivor, and part of him was made with evolution in mind. If joining the covenant increased his chance of living, than it was worth pursuing.

SARA was disgusted by his line of reasoning, she knew it was his primitive side working away but still she was disappointed to see it remerge after her long struggle to subdue that darker nature.

"I need time to consider" announced Lightning softly, eyes staring down at the table.

"I urge you to make haste, the Great Journey will not wait for one individual such as yourself" commented the Prophet, before hovering away from the table.

"Please follow, there is something I wish to show you" Lightning tilted his head with confusion before standing, slowly following after the alien as his Elite guards flanked behind them like a cloak.

It was unsettling to have the dangerous creatures in his blind spot, his body urged caution as he was near vulnerable to the Elites weapons without his armour plating.

 _"I don't like this"_ said SARA as they walked down a hallway lined with prison cells, all manner of covenant creatures were pressed against the bars, growling screeching and making ungodly noises as they walked past.

They walked until they passed another set of doors and entered a ginormous room that stretched high and low into the air. Lightning was momentarily stunned by the vastness and could only gape in awe at the massive room, it looked like some memorial room judging by the covenant numbers lining various points on the wall, which SARA stated were dates and names.

They approached a large platform adorned with some large almost white structure with hints of glowing lights decorating its surface. Beside this structure was a large pod with similar colours, it looked a little out of place and didn't appear to be integrated into the architect of the room like everything else in sight.

"I wish to offer you a place amongst a glorious Covenant, a place of honour and respect, in return I expect you to follow our command and aid us in this campaign" the Prophet of Truth announced as he hovered beside the out of place structure, Lightning slowly moved closer to examine the object and was surprised when it split apart to reveal his own battle gear.

The armour and equipment was shadowed by a bright light, and held into the air upon some invisible force in the exact shape of his body and where the plates would attach. Most shocking of all, the armour looked like it been repaired recently, with old plasma scorching and deep scratches having been removed. Lightning was also surprised to see the familiar patterned surface of Covenant technology knitted into parts of his armour, replacing some of the older systems like radio and the region housing the previously broken shield generator.

Oh how the drake missed having an energy shield, he had one when he started this war but lack of parts made repairing it impossible during this war. The last aspect of the armour that confused him was a funny looking suit, he wasn't sure what it was but it was resting snuggly under the armour plating as if it belonged there.

Hesitantly walking closer to the armour, Lightning reached out and grasped his combat goggles, with their familiar armoured plated surface and multiple visor slits and optics. The marines use to call it his fly goggles or spider eyes, because when his eyes glowed it appeared he had multiple eyes in every direction. Lightning was pleased with this discover as it meant his physiological impact would be stronger amongst the enemy, people tend to fear that which appeared unnatural or beastly in nature.

Turning the goggles so he was staring at the back of the goggles where a block of armour housed a small computer system, the drake slipped the item over his head where it clicked into place with his neural interface system. Pushing the goggles over his eyes and turning to the Prophet, the drake then spoke in the native Elite language with the assistance of SARA translation system.

"What would you have me do for the Covenant?"

To be continued… 

* * *

**AU**

 **Most Halo fans would know where Lightning is right now, the Momumentarian of the Arbiter... How you spell that?**  
 **Anyway, this fanfic has hit over 21000 words in length, and still going strong. For those who think this is going to be another OC insert into the main plot of the game. It is but I got a few twist to the story, and behind the scenes stuff coming along.**

 **If you like what your reading, then stab that fave button with your energy sword brothers and sisters, and slash apart those reviews. FOR THE COVENANT WART WART WART!**

 **^.=.^; and maybe I should sharpen my humour, stay tuned for the next installment coming soon to a PC near you.**


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